La Jornada newspaper described as ‘relevant’ President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s decision to offer asylum to Julian Assange and request his pardon to the United Kingdom.
In an editorial, the newspaper considered that the ruling by British Judge Vanessa Baraitser to reject the request for his extradition, made by the United States Government, was a motive of relief for Assange.
As for Mexico, it said, it is clear that the president’s announcement introduced an unexpected turn of optimism in the environment in which the trial is taking place, and represents a glimmer of hope for Assange himself.
La Jornada said that it regrettable that Judge Baraitser had appealed only to humanitarian aspects (Assange’s poor health and a mental state which, according to specialists’ assessments, could lead him to commit suicide if he were to be jailed in the United States) and spoken against the basic issue of freedom of expression enunciated by the defendant’s attorneys.
It is evident, the newspaper added, that the defendant has faced judicial persecution for more than a decade not for having committed crimes of the common order, but for revealing to the world the dishonesty and criminal nature of many of the actions taken by Washington and other governments in the world.
It should be considered, moreover, that the US Department of Justice immediately said that it will challenge the aforementioned ruling, for which it has a period of 14 days, while Assange’s defense will file an appeal to ensure that he is placed under provisional release, or at least under house arrest. (PL)
